Tuesday Tips: The Best Crowdfunding Advice From Those Who Know
To start the New Year right, we asked some of our campaign leaders to share their top tips with those of you planning a crowdfunding campaign of your own. With a different theme on each post, we’ve been sharing their responses over the past few weeks on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Last week we focused on what campaign leaders did after their campaigns. This week is the final post in this series, and we’re ending with the top tips from campaign leaders that successfully met their crowdfunding goals.
What is your #1 tip on what makes a successful crowdfunding campaign?
Tip 13: Planning is everything.
- “Figure out what you potentially want to achieve in the long run for the business/organization attached to this project. How does this campaign help you achieve your goals and think through what it could trigger for your future — be ready to jump on potential opportunities because of your success.” — Amanda Hill, Beyond Walls, Lynn MA
- “Plan ahead! Secure grants, pledges, kickoff events, midway events, and closeout events to be awarded during the crowdfunding period in order to estimate the maximum goal you can reach.” — Alex Aho, Houghton MI Skatepark, Houghton MI
- “Plan ahead and gauge your ability to raise the money and make sure that matches your target.” — Jim Walker, Garfield Park Creative Community by Big Car, Indianapolis IN
Tip 14: Have a few donors lined up to get the ball rolling and try to space out big donations
- “Collect more pledges from supporters who will support your project even beyond the goal. When you hit your goal, smaller donations slow down, so if you can hold off on depositing $1,000-$10,000 donations until later, you may be able to hit your goal with $20 donations and tack those big checks on top of your goal.” — Alex Aho, Houghton MI Skatepark, Houghton MI
- “Talk to supporters before you start your campaign to make sure it’s viable. Who are the people/businesses in your community that will support the project? How can they help support the project monetarily or help promote it?”— Megan Hutchison, Lotus Global Arts Center, Bloomington IN
- “For our larger project it was good to have some bigger donors lined up and ready.” — Wendy Blake, #DistinctivePlace, Greensburg IN
Tip 15: Get community members to lead the project planning and fundraising
- “My #1 tip for making a successful crowdfunding campaign is to organize a team of people from across your community to lead the fundraising efforts. When there is a group behind a cause, you are going to get more contributions from a wider cross section of your city or county.” — Rachel Beyer, Bedford Community Garden, Bedford IN
- “Engaging the community in the planning process is paramount to guarantee success for a crowdfunding campaign. By actively working with those who live, work, and play in the Lansing area, organizations can develop deeper relationships with current stakeholders, build awareness through word-of-mouth, and leverage additional support with matching funds.” — Barb Whitney, Pop Up Art: Special Edition II, Lansing MI
- “ Assemble a committee with diverse talents, backgrounds, and connections. Some people are better at brainstorming project ideas, some people know how to ask for money, and some people are hardwired to work out all of the details to see the project through. All are equally important to make it a success.” — Jordan Tandy, Riverfront Plaza, Wabash IN
Tip 16: Be savvy in your outreach.
- “Having vibrant visuals is a must. This also helps tell the story and kicks potential donor’s imaginations into high gear.” — Amanda Hill, Beyond Walls, Lynn MA
- “Consistent and positive press coverage and social media activity. Our community foundation has a massive PR reach to local news outlets, which ensured that more people knew about our campaign than people who did not. Don’t be afraid to reach out to newspapers and TV stations yourself; community efforts like these are EXACTLY the positive stories they like to cover.” — Alex Aho, Houghton MI Skatepark, Houghton MI
- “Make sure you find the sweet spot for keeping your campaign message out there (especially in social media) without bombarding people to the point that they tune you out.” — Chris Corr, Craig Kids Memorial Park, Indianapolis IN
- “For [our] smaller campaign it was more about making sure the masses knew about it quickly.” — Wendy Blake, #DistinctivePlace, Greensburg IN
NOTE: Not every tip fits every project. Don’t assume that following each of these tips will automatically make you successful or that by not following them you’ll fail. Each campaign, project, and community is unique. The biggest tip we have is consider carefully the campaign tactics that will work best for YOUR project and community. Thank you for reading and sharing. If you have a project, and want to learn how Patronicity can help you, learn more and get in touch at Patronicity.com.
